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Legos, Barbie doll shoes, puzzle pieces, Play-Doh, chalk, crayons,
balloons, water paints, and armies of action figures--when there
is a preschooler in the house, childproofing for a baby is no easy
challenge. In fact, many risks are easy to overlook, which may explain
why, in 1995, more than 86,000 children were injured in home accidents
involving nursery products, according to the U.S. Consumer Products
Safety Commission (CPSC). But despite these statistics, you can
make your home safe for all your kids. Here are six essential tips
to show you how:
Carefully examine any equipment you plan to reuse.
Don't assume that the nursery products your first baby used are
still dependable. "Check the straps of your baby carrier, the
bolts on your crib, all the parts of your baby swing, and the mesh
on your playpen," says Loraine Stern, M.D., associate clinical
professor of pediatrics at the University of California at Los Angeles.
Get a kid's-eye view of your home.
Get down on the floor to see the world the way your baby sees it;
you're sure to spot hazards you've never noticed. Also, your older
child still needs plenty of supervision. For instance, don't leave
your kindergartner's cough medicine on top of his dresser. "He
might not take the medicine himself," Dr. Stern says, "but
I see cases in which kids that age play doctor and give medicine
to the baby."
Rethink old childproofing techniques.
Some of the safety equipment parents relied on in the past isn't
the safest equipment on the market, says Richard Shandelman, president
of Safe & Sound, a child safety services
company based in Philadelphia. Did you know, for instance, that
those popular push-in outlet caps can be hazardous? "An industrious
toddler can remove them, resulting in not only an open outlet but
also something to choke on," explains Shandelman. A better
solution: outlet covers with a spring-loaded hinge that automatically
snap closed.
Think twice about adjustments you've made.
Have you moved the pitcher of juice to a lower refrigerator shelf
so your preschooler can pour herself a drink? Put it and all other
such items back on the top shelf, cautions Shandelman. Of course,
the fridge isn't the only potential trouble spot. Search your house
for others.
Take special care during potty teaching.
Leaving a toilet lid open and the bowl accessible to the child
who is learning can turn into a safety problem for your younger
child. According to the CPSC, young children have drowned when they've
fallen headfirst into a toilet bowl. There's a simple solution:
Use a separate potty chair or install a toilet-lid lock.
Make big brother or sister your safety helper.
"My older kids are part of my childproofing team," says
Hilde Ernsberger of Santa Clarita, California, a mother of three.
"Whenever I find something that the baby could choke on, I
say to the older kids, 'This could get stuck in her throat, and
she could die.' Now before they give her something, they ask me
first if it's OK." And what can you do with all those toys
with tiny parts? "Retrain your older kids to play with such
toys on table surfaces instead of the floor, and then to put them
away in containers that have lids," suggests Shandelman.
But no matter how careful you are, kids are creative when it comes
to getting into trouble. And while safety experts emphasize that
most household accidents are preventable, don't get crazy. "One
mother called me in a panic because she found her toddler eating
the stuffing out of the couch," recalls Dr. Stern. "Luckily,
he seemed fine. I told her not to worry, but to get the couch reupholstered!"
Nancy Kalish is a New York City-based freelance writer who specializes
in parenting and women's health issues.
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